"MI theory proposed that deep understanding depends on transforming ideas and transferring skills from one domain to another. Creating meaning is totally about transforming learning; the arts offer diverse means to convert thoughts and words into visual and auditory images and movement." (Cornett 72)

"Gardner explains that intelligences seldom operate 'in isolation' and that everyone has capacities in all eight areas.MI theory thus suggests educators teach all modes of understanding and expression, which widens communication possibilities and increases student performance. Arts-based intelligences, in particular, add breadth to student's learning options." (Cornett 72)

"students will persist is they think the learning is important, and they find the learning intrinsically rewarding-meaning the work itself is enjoyable. (Cornett 64)

Yo-Yo Ma advised middle schooler that if they aren't making mistakes they are 'not making the effort to make magic and great things happen" (Cornett 65)

When mistakes are viewed as opportunities, rich sources of new directions-children feel safe exploring the possibilities of paint and clay as they work through problems." (Cornett 75)

"From the get-go, students need to expect to generate many possible answers. Then attention can be paid to those that collect plentiful ideas, use varied sources, and do more experimentation with possibilities" (Cornett 65)

"It is correct that different brain areas are specialized for different tasks, but the specialization occurs at a fine level, making it wrong to say something like visual imagery happened in the right brain. As for understanding written text, both hemispheres process phonemes in words and decode the pronunciation to give them meaning and subsequently construct the gist from inferences made. Simply stated, both hemispheres are involved in all activities." (Cornett 78)

"Most learning takes place after age ten, and we may actually be more efficient learners after puberty when the brain is growing less. (Cornett 79)

"We don't lose brain cells as we age and are always capable of growing more." (Cornett 79)

"Stress causes the amygdala to flood the brain with chemicals that are potentially harmful to the development of the cortex, which causes problems with understanding. In a related finding, 'children who don't play much or are rarely touched develop brains 20% to 30% smaller than normal.: (Cornett 79)

"Arts and play cause chemicals in the brain to be released which results in idea creations, problem-solving, optimism, and heightened attention." (Cornett 79

"Arts Integration embraces the premise that students' thinking capacity is greater than what is indicated by their language development." (Cornett 80)

"When emotion is part of learning, the brain is more likely to change dramatically, triggering the release of chemicals such as adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine which modify synapses, a process at the very root of learning." (Cornett 80)

"Dramatic play, movement exploration, and experimentation with art materials involve creative things which alter brain chemistry and induce feels of optimism and wellbeing." (Cornett 80)

"Longer and more intense work in the arts had more impact-an effect particularly strong for low-income and ESL students." (Cornett 83)

"Arts integration offers a menu of learning opportunities for all students- at-risk, disadvantaged, delayed, and gifted, from every cultural background, widening success possibilities by increasing participation by all." (Cornett 85)

“I observe that culturally responsive teachers resist the cultural deficit paradigm and decontextualized learning that devalues or disconnects students from their ethnicity and their culture. These teachers instead develop learning activities incorporating the student’s home language, social-cultural schemas, artistic expression, and life experiences.” (Lai 18)

“Children feel emotionally secure when they find themselves, and those they love, positively represented in curriculum materials. Culturally responsive teachers create learning environments that respectfully reflect each child’s home culture while inviting children to accept and explore cultures which are unfamiliar to them. By practicing content integration and including high-quality multicultural literacy materials as part of regular classroom activities, teachers model interest in, and acceptance of difference." (Purnell, Parveen, Begum & Marilyn 424).

"An important way that learning the arts mattered to students was the opportunity to explore their own identities and to express themselves... They are a medium in which students can imagine and try out new possibilities for themselves and their futures." (Stevenson and Deasy 19)

“Art Educators argue that arts activities encouraging students to actively explore racial, ethnic or cultural identities and issues will likely assist meaningful and intercultural learning. (Delacruz, Arnold, Kuo, & Parsons, 2009; Shin 2011)” - pg. 19

“…the optimal internal state for learning is one of relaxed alertness (Caine & Caine 1991), while the optimal external, environmental conditions for learning are characterized by ‘high challenge and low threat’ (OECD 2002). …The integration of the arts into the daily lives of students’ school experience is perhaps the most promising way to provide students, simultaneously, with learning experiences that cultivate a state of relaxed alertness, provide orchestrated immersion in complex experience, and allow for active processing experiences – experiences that are vital to student success in school and in life” (Lewis 81-82)